Cattle-guard



(NoModel.) l

` F. G. SUSEMIHL.

CATTLE GUARD.

No. 567,844. Patented Sept. 15, 1896.

Miren FRANCIS Gr. SUSEMIIIL, OF DETROIT,VMICIIIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO TI-IESI-IEFFIELD CAR COMPANY, OF THREE RIVERS, MICHIGAN.

CATTLE-G UARD.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 567,844, datedSeptember 15, 1896. Application tiled August 7, 1895. Serial No.v558,507. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern:

Be t'known that I, FRANCIS G. SUsnMn-IL, a citizen of the United States,residing at Detroit, in the county of Vayne andu State of Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Cattle-Guards, of whichthe following is a specification, reference being had therein to theaccompanying drawings.

The invention consists in the construction of a railway surfacecattle-guard made of sheet metal, the footingdestroying element beingproduced by teeth struck up from the sheet.

The invention in particularconsists in the peculiar structure orarrangement of teeth in relation to the web, whereby the teeth may bebrought sufficiently close together to present a practically impassablebarrier for cattle and at the same time present a safe footing forpersons who may have to cross the guard.

The invention further consists in the construction and arrangement ofthe teeth in each guard-section so that there are no gaps free fromteeth beside the rails or between the meeting edges of the sectionswhere cattle can walk.

The invention further consists in the construction, arrangement, andcombination of the various parts, all as more fully hereinafterdescribed.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view of a portion of two of myimproved guard-sections as in the track. Fig. 2 is a perspective viewthereof. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the guard as in the track. Fig. 4is a sectional perspective view of a slightly-modied form, and Fig. 5 isa cross-section thereof.

In the prior state of the art cattle and other flat guards have beenconstructed from sheet metal by striking teeth out of a blank to presenta series of upwardly-projecting ns or points to form thefooting-destroying element of the guard. Such guards have provenunsatisfactory for two reasons-first, because they have not produced asuflicientl y insecure footing to prevent animals from crossing, and,second, because they produced a guard in which the points were so farapart as to destroy the footing for persons. In other words, the pointswere so arranged as to permit the feet of animals to find footingbetween them, and yet such a distance apart as not to per- Init the footof a person to bear upon a series of such points to give a properfooting.

My guard embodies a construction in which the teeth are so constructedand arranged that at no point can an animal iind a secure or flatfooting, and yet the points are so cornbined that a person having a shoeof ordinary proportions can walk with impunity across the guard withfirm footing.

My cattle-guard I form in four or more like sections A, two suchsections fitting between the rails and iilling that space and onesection outside the rails on each side. These sections lie directly uponthe ties B and may be secured by spikes driven through the apertures C.The teeth D are arranged in rows. The adjoining rows are oppositelystruck up,

`that is, the points of the teeth of one row E are struck up from theleft and those of the adjoining row E are struck up with the points tothe right. I shall refer to this as oppositely-arranged. teeth insucceeding rows. The teeth of one row, when struck up, standintermediate the apertures F, formed by striking up the teeth of theadjoining rows, the effect being to form a staggered arrangement of theteeth on the plate.

The teeth, except those at each end, are struck up to stand vertically.The end teeth G are bent to incline inwardly, so that persons walking upto the guard, striking their feet against these jinclined teeth, willnot be apt to stumble and fall upon the guard, as they would if theseteeth were vertical.

The teeth of each row are struck up so as to make practically acontinuous aperture, or, in other words, to divide .the plate intonarrow websections I-I between the rows. This is accomplished bystriking up the teeth so that the point or apex of one tooth is struckup from the base, or from a point in the base of the succeeding tooth,whereby these websections I-I are connected only by the teeth.

By forming the teeth as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, one tooth overlappingwith its point the base of the adjoining tooth, I can space them stillnearer together than with the formation shown in Fig. 1.

Vhere the pointed teeth are thus struck IOO up in rows, it leaves at theside the notched plate or web-section I, and in the case of the twomiddle guard-sections this space would leave room for an animal to walkat their meeting edges. To best utilize this space and bring the edgeteeth of the adjoining sections in the middle substantially the samedistance apart as the other teeth, I strike up the narrow teeth .I at anangle to the line of the adjoining teeth,the sides of the aperturesformed by striking up these teeth being parallel to the apertures formedby striking up the other teeth. This utilizes the section I to the bestadvantage and produces the staggered arrangement of the side teeth, aswell as the other advantages above pointed out.

A cattle-guard manufactured of plate or sheet iron or steel, with afooting-destroying element formed by teeth arranged as described,presents points of the desired height so closely interspersed that noanimal can find a Iiatfooting at any point, while the shoe of a man willspan a series of the points and give him a firm footing at all points.

Each section being made in a single piece laid iat upon and spiked tothe ties, there is no possibility of rattling as trains pass over,

and being formed without side iianges or margins the plate at all pointsis rigidly supported, and no place is afforded for dangling chains orrods to iind a hold.

What I claim as my invention isl. A cattle-guard section formed of asheet of metal comprising longitudinal web-sections, and teeth struck upin staggered transverse rows forming the sole connection between suchweb-sections- 2. In a cattle-guard section formed of sheet metal,thecombination of pointed teeth struck up from the plate in rows, the apexof one tooth being struck centrally from the metal of the base of thenext adjoining tooth, the teeth in the adjoining rows being oppositelyarranged, and grouped so that the teeth of one row stand intermediatethe apertures formed by striking up the teeth of the adjoining row,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANCIS G. SUSEMIIIL.

Vitnesses:

M. B. ODOGHERTY, P. M. IIULBERT.

